Web guiding and tensioning device



March 25, 1958 c. H. TRlMBl .E El'AL 2,828,125 WEB GUIDING AND TENSIONING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 16, 1953 I INVENTOR HARLES H. TRIMBLE FRED J. WAGNER ATTORNEY March 25, 1958 c. H. TRIMBLE ET AL 2,828,125

WEB GUIDING AND TENSIONING DEVICE Filed Dec. 16. 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR CHARLES H. TRI MBLE FRED J. WAGNER ATTORNEY United States Patent This invention in general relates to means for guiding and applying constant tension to" amovin'gwb, and more particularly to novel :means for' guiding a-'mov1ng"web eto obtain angular displacement andfor maintaining the moving web in substantially constant tensionwith respect'to the I guiding means.

At the .termination in the line of'a/moving we-b 'it is customarily the practice to-employ aree'l or the likeon which the web iswound. During suchWindingopcrations some of the essential elements areto maintain the moving web in proper relation -'to the reel so that'there will be no buck-ling, creasing, or wrinkling in the'web,

4, 2,828,125 Patented Mar. 25, 1958 "'thetilt'of theupp'erroller to "guide the "web to the right.

Generally,"the present invention involves "a device for guiding and tensioning a moving web. The devicecon- "sists' of 'a lower roller to maintain "substantially constant *upwardtension against .a moving web, an upper "roller 'pivotably movable in a vertical .plane toimpart a slight twist "to the moving web'to effect a correction in "the lateral'movement of the 'Web, and "a calibrated linkage 'to set-"the degree 'ofpivotal movement :of the upperroller.

'In Fig. :1 of the drawings, therefere'nce numeral 10 "represents "generally the web guiding and tensioning means which is the principal object of'this invention. Although the web guiding means is here shown secured'to a specificstand or structure, this stand may. take various modiiications in the present inventionas it will become obvious that the hereinafter described devise may be installed directly-in theline of any moving web or to otherforms of support.

and also to maintain the edge ofeac'h successive turnof the web upon the reel directly above the preceding iedge. That is, thernoving web must be so guided upon thereel as ;to prevent overrunning of the edges 'of successive layers.

The web guiding devices that have been developed in the'past'have proven unsatisfactory'for. guiding Webs moving in substantially a straight'line in that they-fail to compensate for such factors as slackening of 'the -web due to normal variations in machinery speeds, elasticity of the web, or other conditions. 'Previous web guiding devices that employ-rollers, to be elfective, usually require that the webbe in contactwith the guide rolls for aconsiderable portion of the roll circumference. Therefore, for a web moving in substantially a straightline the'heretofore guide devices have proven to be unsatisfactory.

It is'an object of this invention to overcome the limitations described above.

It is a further object of this invention to providea web guiding means that may also be employed effectively in the line of a web moving in substantially a straightline.

A still further object of the present invention is 'to'prd vide a means for maintaining .a moving web :in constant tension with respect to the guiding means.

Another object of the present invention is to provide means for accurately controlling the web guiding means.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of adjustable means to control the guiding of the web.

The invention further resides in certain novel features of parts, and further'objects and advantages 'thereof'will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which it pertains from the following description of the present preferred embodiment thereof described with respect to the accompanying drawings in which similar reference characters represent corresponding parts in the several views, in which:

Fig. 1 is an isometric view of an embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a front view with the control linkage and connections illustrated in section;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the invention;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the'invention'; h w V Fig.5. is anexaggerated diagrammatic view showing the tilt of the upper roller to guide the web to the left; and

Fig. 6 is an exaggerated diagrammatic view showing Referring'fnow particularly "to Fig. 1, an L-shaped "member lliis secured by 'any suitable means to a vertical -meniber "'12"'toform' a downwardly extending bifurcated port on.

"means:of suitatbleb'e'arings 13'is an upper roller 14. For

.lourn'al'ed within this bifurcated portion by the'p'urposes o'f'thefollowing 'deSCI'lPfiOH the term' roller will be'used'but it'beingiunder'stood that this 'invention is "not limite'd'to theuse of a roller where it is obvious that a sliding shoe or curvedme'mber in frictional contact'with :a moving'w'ebmay'be substitutedforthe roller. "The bearings 13 are .more clearly shown inlFig."2 where the one on the left is shown in section. The downwardly extending bifurcated portion formed by'themembers '11 and 12 is pivotableabout an .axis defined by the center line of a bolt 15 to forma tiltable support for the upper roller 14. The opposite end 18 of the bolt 16, more clearly shown in Fig. 3, is secured to asuitable structure indicated here as a base structure 17. It will be observed that if there were no other connectionsor obstructions,

:the .united members 11 and 12 would beable to rotate .freely about the axis of the bolt '16. However, attached to the upper portion of the member 12 is a linkage as shown in the drawings and which willtnow be described.

Referring to Fig. 2, this linkage is indicated in cross section to more clearly show its operation tocontrol the degree of tilt of the joined members 11 and 12. A link 20 is firmly secured by suitable means tothe base .structure 17. An extended portion 21 of .thelink 20, not shown in Fig. 2 because of the sectional view, but clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 4, is providedfor the purpose ofsupportingthe outer end of a shaft 22. The other end of shaft 22 issecured to the support 17. One end of a link 23 is pivotally mounted on the shaft '22. The opposite end of the link 23 is bifurcated as clearly shown in the drawings, and nested within this bifurcation is a link 25 which is mountedpivotally about a shaft 24 extending through the bifurcation. The link 25. is threaded to receive a threaded shaft 27, Figs. 2 and4. The shaft 27 extends from the link 25, through. the upper portion of themember 12 and is secured as an integral part of a hub 28. A shoulder 29 fixedly secured to the shaft 27, and the hub 28 also fixedly secured to the same shaft prevent any lateral movement of the shaft 2 7 with respect to the upper portion of the member 12. However, the shaft 27 is rotatable by means of a handle 30. An integral portion of the hub 28 is a scale 31 which is suitably designed to indicate relative rotational displacement of the shaft'27. The operation of thislinkage in controlling the degree of rotational displacement of the upper roller 14 will now be described.

Referring particularly'to'Fig. 2, the axis of rotation of the upper roller 14 is shown substantially horizontal. Should it be required to guide a moving web to the left, that is, to the left looking at Fig. 2, the axis of rotation of as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

I the'roller 14must be rotated slightly counterclockwise of the bolt 16. As the roller 14 is journaled within the downwardly extending bifurcation of the joined members 11 and 12, any rotational displacement given to these members governs also the rotational displacement of the roller 14. Likewise, should it be required to guide a moving web to the right, the handle 30 may be turned I 'It may now be evident that the principalfunctionof the links 20, 23, and is to furnish a support, free from binding, against which the shaft 27 may be operated to a result in a predetermined rotational displacement for the guide roller 14.

Although the required tilt of the guide roller 14 is very slight to give the result desired, tomore fully understand the actual operation of the links to control this tilt, as-

l wardly depending bifurcated portion, an upper roller, ,said upper roller being journaled within said downsume that a large tilt. or rotational displacement, is desired. This is shown diagrammatically in Figs. 5 and 6. To obtain a large tilt to the left as illustrated in Fig. 5, the

A. I interaction between the upward force of the hydraulic cylinder 47 and the downward force of springs 4545 when no web is passing between the rollers is such that the platen 41, including the lower roller 40, is hydraulically floatingly secured. Such floating suspension of the roller 40 assures tensioning of the web even though the web may vary in thickness during manufacture.

It will be understood that the embodiment herein described is merely illustrative of the invention and one application thereof and that modifications can be made and it is capable of other applications.

What is claimed is:

1. A web guiding device comprising a first roller, a second roller, means to tilt said first roller with respect to the surface of a web, a vertically movable platen to support said second roller, a plurality of columns extending vertically through said platen, caps mounted ou' the upper end of said columns, compression springs surrounding said columns and positioned between said ,downwardly, and hydraulic means acting upwardly handle30 must be given several turns, counterclockwise.;;; This will thread the shaft 27 further out of the link 25 urging the upper portion of the member 12 to rotate 'jcounterclockwise about the axis of the bolt 16. But to prevent binding, the link 25 will turn slightly'cou'nte'r- To obtain a large tilt to the right, as illustrated in Fig; 6, the handle 30 is given several turns clockwisetoward the link 25 in a clockwise rotational movement about the axis of the bolt 16. The links again will adjust themselves to prevent any binding of the shaft 27.

The link 25 will be rotated slightly clockwise about its shaft 24 and at the same time the shaft 24 will be moved downward in arotational movement about the axis of the shaft 22. This is accomplished by the counterclockwise movement of the link 23.

To effect maximum efficiency from the guide roller, a

lower roller 40 is positioned to urge the moving web against the guide roller.14 as shown in the exaggerated '41 is capable of movement only in a verticaldirection.

'This will thread. the shaft 27 further into the link 25 i thereby drawing the upper portion of the member 12 By maintaining substantially constant upward pressure on the platen 41, the lower roller 40 will maintain a moving web in substantially constant pressure against the guide roller 14. This is particularly important fora web moving in a straight line where there would'betheoretically only point contact with the guide roller.

The platen 41 is movable vertically on two columns 4'343 which are fixedly mounted in an upright position The upper ends of the columns 43-43 terminate in caps 44-444 to form shoulders against which compression springs 45-45 may act. Fix-' edly secured to the underside of the platen 41 are hubs 46-46 to insure against any possible angular movement of the platen. The platen 41 is urged vertically upwardly by means of any standard hydraulic cylinder 47. The

against said platen, with constant pressure to overcome the action of said compression springs.

2. A web guiding device comprising a support tiltable with respect to the surface of a web and having a downwardly depending bifurcated portion of said tiltable sup-v port, a base' structura-a flexible linkage anchored at one end tosaid base structure and secured to said tiltable support at the otherend, a threaded member in said flexitile-linkage, a handle secured to said threaded member ,to change' the effective length of said flexible linkage, a

vertically movable platen, a lower roller mounted on said platen,;.:and means to floatingly support said platen between an upwardly acting hydraulic means and downwardly acting compression springs.

3. Aweb guiding device comprising a base structure,

401a support tiltable with respect to the surface of a web,

' a flexible linkage to tilt said upper roller with respect to an upper roller mounted on said support, a lower roller,

said lower roller, said flexible linkage comprising a first link secured to the base structure,-a first shaft secured at one end to the base structure and at the opposite end to said first link, a second link mounted pivotally about .said first shaft at one end and bifurcated at the opposite end, a second shaft secured in the bifurcated end of said second link, a third link mounted rotatably at one end about said second shaft and having a threaded aperture in the opposite end thereof, a rod threaded at one end within the aperture of said third link and attached to said 1,402,726 Wegner Jan. 3, 1922 1,596,954 Tuttle Aug. 24, 1926 1,930,837 Hall Oct. 17, 1933 2,066,306 Horton Dec. 29, 1936 2,102,793 George Dec. 21, 1937 2,102,895- Hasbrouck Dec. 21, 1937 2,341,158 Nachtman Feb. 8, 1944 2,409,770 Lorig etal. Oct. .22, 1946 2,587,603 Czarnecki Mar. 4, 1952 2,616,690 Haringx Nov. 4, 1952 2,632,641 I Rice Mar. 24, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 155,390 Australia Feb. 24,1954 

